Thursday, February 21, 2013

Sam “Well, it seems like
ever since I decided nine months ago to really love Jesus above all else, that is
when the troubles began.”

Pastor Jim “What kind of
troubles brother?”

Sam “I feel this battle
inside—heck, I don’t even understand my own actions. Often-times, I do not do
what I really want to do…and I end up doing the very thing I hate! Pride, lust,
and anger are things I wrestle with—a lot. It happens so often I feel depressed.”

Pastor Jim “Sam, I know
you are a godly man—so there must be some outside influence that is oppressing
you. Sounds like you have a demonic attachment. Why don’t we set up an appointment
to deliver you from those demons of pride, lust, and anger?”

The above is a
compressed composite of many complaints I have heard from earnest Christians
over the years—ongoing frustration with sin. The diagnosis and treatment
suggested by the spiritual physician (the pastor or deliverance minister) has
become standard operating procedure.

My heart is broken
over this because I do not like to correct brothers, but I have to say the
following—the vast majority (not all) of deliverance ministers and books are
harming more people than they are helping. Why do I make that dreadful
comment? Because if our diagnosis is way off, then so will be the treatment…and
our diagnosis above is an example of how awful the situation has become. Of
necessity the above conversation had to be brief, but even after hours of
counseling and questionnaires, it accurately depicts the final outcome—almost
always demons are found to be the culprit. Categories frequently ignored are
the fall (and its psychological consequences), and indwelling sin, which is the
focus of this analysis. Even if personal sin is mentioned, it is almost never
discussed in the manner in which we will.

Do you realize that
the problem Sam mentioned (which got him diagnosed as having a demonic attachment)
is a quote from the apostle Paul regarding his own struggles with sin??!! (see
Romans 7:14—8:1) The existential, psychological anguish which Paul
expresses over his battle with sin—specifically v.15 (which Sam quotes almost
verbatim), is a major reason why the pastor thought he was experiencing demonic
oppression. I’m convinced that if Paul were alive today and writing as he did
then, he would have deliverance ministers claiming he was diabolically
oppressed.

My dear friends, I hope and pray this discussion will bring comfort to
some troubled souls. Demonologists and deliverance ministers are causing
incredible carnage amongst Christians due to an epidemic of shallow
understanding of theology and the bible. We know that Satan and his demonic
hoard are our sworn enemies, and to be ignorant of their schemes will cause all
sorts of significant problems for us. The bible tells us that Satan is a
defeated foe, and yet we are engaged in a battle royal every day !! (Eph. 6)
Likewise with sin—it is a defeated foe (not blinded or enslaved anymore), but
we are engaged in a life-long battle royal with indwelling sin. Why do we
recognize the former, but not the latter?

The united voice of
scripture states that the vast majority of hateful thoughts, lustful thoughts,
covetous thoughts (fill in the blank) are not caused by demons but fromindwelling
sin. It is vitally important for demonologists to know this…it is equally
imperative that every Christian know this!

Tragically, the
compressed hypothetical conversation above is repeated many times everyday by
deliverance ministers, who are abysmally ignorant of the bible’s teaching
regarding indwelling sin. Listen to God’s word…

“…every intention of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5) Lest we think
this was just a pre-flood observation, “…for the intentions of man’s heart is
evil from his youth.” (Gen. 8:21)—written AFTER the Flood.

“Behold, I was brought
forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Ps: 51:5) This
reference to “original sin” is not the original/first sin of man, but the sin
nature passed on to every human being.

“The heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer.
17:9) So much for following your heart type advice!!

“For out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt.12:34)—according to James,
NOBODY has their tongue properly trained, so what does that say about the
heart? (James 3:2)

“But each person is
tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire…” (James 1:14-15)…do you
see demons anywhere in this text on temptation???

“For the desires of
the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you for doing the things
you want to do.” (Gal.5:17)

This text in Galatians
encapsulates an excruciating, extended exposition of the battle
with indwelling sin in Romans 7: 14-:8:1)…”Now if I do what I do not want, it
is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”(v.20)

This side of heaven
there is a tension between the “already” and the “not yet”. Much harmful,
shallow teaching regarding sanctification/spiritual warfare disregards the fact
that some aspects of our salvation are true “already” (or now) and some are
“not yet”…their full realization will not be experienced till heaven. When
these are “telescoped together” (already and not-yet), then disaster often
occurs. In 1 John 3:2 we are told that when we go to heaven, then we will
finally be able to see God face to face because will be sinless.

In wiser times, the
universal testimony of notably godly people was how sinful they saw themselves
to be, and how they yearned for heaven to see Jesus face-to-face, and to be
free from the presence of sin. If a Christian were to admit how sinful they
were in many Christian circles, he would be rebuked for not being
“victorious”!! I have said this before but the greatest deficiency in modern
preaching is the dearth of God-intoxicated messages. The heresy of the
prosperity gospel has affected most TV preachers. A deficient understanding of
the holiness of God, will lead to a deficient view of our sinfulness, and a
deficient view of our sinfulness leads to a deficient of grace-as well as
leaving us woefully out of touch with reality. Perhaps this will help: justification (past tense already/now)
deals with the GUILT OF SIN, sanctification (present and on-going or
progressive) deals with the POWER OF SIN,
and glorification (not
yet..future) deals with the PRESENCE OF SIN.

Let me use an analogy
to illustrate what happens as we mature in Christ. Picture an
iceberg—nine-tenths of it is under the water line..only a small portion is
visible. That is an apt analogy of how many see sin. The focus is on the
visible behavior—do certain things, and avoid others, then you are seen as
godly. But under the water line, in the cold, dark, murky depths lies our
impure motives…covetousness…critical attitude..and so on. As we mature, more
spiritual nerves are exposed, and we become increasingly aware of what is going
on “under the water line”. The sin was always there but was overlooked.

In Rom.7:17,20 Paul
laments that sin indwelling inside of him causes him to do that which he hates,
or not do what he loves.(the law helped him see below the water-line)
Demons or Satan are nowhere in sight in this discussion. Friends, we are very
capable of being tempted FROM WITHIN because indwelling sin never leaves us—it
corrupts everything we do. As one saint said, “He had to repent of even his
most fervent of prayers.” Our motives are never utterly pure. But back to
demons—they are finite in number and localized…they come and they go (unless
oppressed or possessed), but indwelling sin is always present. There does not
have to be a demon within 100 miles, and we still have to be on guard against
indwelling sin, which can flare up at any moment and destroy us if we are not careful.

I dare say that if a
person paraphrased Romans 7 (or just Gal.5:17) to the average deliverance
minister, they would be convinced that person was under demonic oppression!
And worse, they (as has happened countless times) will try to cast out demons from inside this struggling Christian. No
time to elaborate, but demons cannot physically indwell a Christian…PERIOD!!!

What is indwelling
sin? The simplest way of answering that is to say that after we are saved,
there remains sin in our hearts. We are new creations (Gal.2:20) with a new
nature—we do NOT have a battle between two natures, because the old nature is
gone. But that does not mean indwelling sin has been eradicated. There is a
nexus of anti-God and selfish inclinations lurking within us—and it will be a
battle royal until the day we die. Though not a personal being like a demon, it
is still an energized cesspool--a network that vitiates or pollutes EVERYTHING
we do—even our best actions with best of intentions are corrupted by this
radical despoilment of our entire human nature. As we mature in Christ we
should become more aware of how radically and comprehensively indwelling sin
corrupts everything we think, do, and say. Please believe me when I say there
was a time when a humble school child could elaborate on indwelling sin. Anemic
views of God lead to anemic views of sin.

Indwelling sin
operates much like demons do—there are two main functions…force of temptation and deceit or deception. Though
it is inanimate, indwelling sin is an active energy pulsating and polluting
everything in its path. In James we see that the “intent” of indwelling sin is
our destruction—much the same as demons. All sorts of temptations bubble up
from within, and indwelling sin will also seek to deceive us that it does not
exist.

PLEASE…if you are
struggling, don’t assume it is demonic. It may very well be demonic, but
examine yourself…chances are you are simply struggling with indwelling sin. But
praise God for the daily beauty of the gospel and that we stand perfect in
Christ’s righteousness. Much more could be said, but I need to stop.

I'll focus on three
tools that the dark forces/demons use against us in the never-ending battle,
and as the saying goes, “Knowledge is power.” I want to empower you on the
pervasive subject of curses, yokes, and false covenants.

A curse is any act,
spoken, or mental thought that seeks to produce harm or injury towards someone
or something. When the demons out there pick up the scent of a curse they go to
work on the curse and the person who makes the curse. (The simple act of
cursing anything is an invitation to the demons to enter your life and you
opened up the door to them). A curse can take many different forms.

1. A curse as an evil
declaration against a person, group, place or thing, so be careful when you say
such things as: "I curse this job." "I curse that relationship
to fail." "I curse this office." This is the act that leads to
most curses being cast and often people don’t even realize they are casting
curses, until years later, if ever. And of course there is the other way, that
of finding a trained individual who will cast the curse for you, or the
do-it-yourself method of buying or checking out a library book and casting it
yourself.

2. A curse is the polar
opposite of a blessing. When you say "I love you" that’s a blessing.
When you say, "I hate you" that’s a curse. Blessings are positive
wishes, hopes, and prayers for good. No curse can ever produce such things.

3. A curse can be our
own personal actions. Let’s say you drink alcohol. Then, by the simple act of
drinking you opened up the door for possible legal, personal, and health
related curses. These can range from being arrested for DUI, to becoming
addicted, and such alcohol related diseases like depression, cirrhosis of the
liver, heart failure and AIDS. Conversely, good conduct, such as abstaining
from liquor, produces the opposite results, which are blessings.

4. A curse is a
judgment against a person, place, or thing. How often have we felt good about a
task we set for ourselves, then someone attempts to undermine us, saying:
"That’s too difficult." "Your goals are
unrealistic.""What makes you think you’re good enough?" We as
mere humans hear the curse of the negative words and buy into them.

5. A curse can be
placed on a physical object and thus effect everyone who comes into ownership
with that object. I can’t count the times I’ve been called into a case and
while moving through the home, I find some little object and ask where did you
get that? And hear answers such as "My boy bought that statue thing back
from Iraq" or "I dug that up at some burial ground." Objects can
have curses placed on them that can last for thousands of years.

6. A curse can come
from the simple act of saying the words: damn, hell and any other cuss word, or
in reality curse word, with a negative intent in mind. When you get cut off in
traffic and say "damn you" to that driver of the sports car, you’re
cursing the driver of that foreign sports car. When you say "damn
you" to your spouse when you fight, you’re cursing your spouse. When you
say "damn" or "dammit" when you get mad at yourself, you’re
cursing yourself. And whenever you curse someone, even yourself, that curse
will return to you.

7. A curse can come
from a negative wish. For example, you wish someone dead, or to go to hell
after they die, then that also constitutes a curse.

The yoke is the
outgrowth of the curse that binds the cursed one physically and spiritually.
It’s like the ox that pulls the cart, with that big, heavy wooden yoke binding
his neck. Someone who has been cursed is prevented from finding peace. They only
know suffering via physical and emotional pains and inner turmoil. They suffer
physical, emotional, and oftentimes sexual abuse. Shame and disgust will rule
every thought they have about themselves. Coldness, fear, hopelessness, and
confusion will rule their minds. We also need to understand that our own
inactions can produce curses that saddle us with yokes. These would be traits
like refusing to forgive, refusing to engage in a spiritual path, and refusing
to stop self-imposed negative thinking. That trio of inactions produces curses
that saddle us with yokes. We end up cursing ourselves.

A covenant is an
agreement that is entered into by two parties. If party A does the thing that
Party B asks them to do, then Party B will reward them for their actions. As in
the Christian act of salvation, the person goes through the process of
accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior in body, mind and spirit, makes
a public confession, and in turn Jesus Christ will stand up for them in heaven.
Covenants are good things, but there can be "false covenants" that we
don’t realize that we’re entering into. "I'd give my soul for that
job." "I'd give up my five years of my life to date him/her."
"I would give up everything to see him/her lose." You’ve heard those
expressions before, or maybe you even spoke those words. At some time, quite
often in our youth, we make pacts with the devil. I’ve seen it so many times in
my cases where I find out that at some time they’ve asked for something from
the devil, got it, and years later their life literally went to hell. Folks,
the devil doesn’t play by the rules. He may get it for you, but you’ll never be
able to keep it. And the price you end up paying is immeasurable.

False covenants can
also be simply wishes such as: "If I only had that job, my life would be
complete." "If I married that person, I’d be whole." These are
also false covenants because you’re seeking happiness outside yourself. And
only true happiness is inside. Curses, yokes, and false covenants can all be multi-generational.
In Numbers 14:18, the Bible reads: "The LORD is longsuffering, and of
great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third
and fourth generation." Additionally, this can also mean their mothers,
grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and uncles. And I‘ve seen some curses
run as long as twenty generations.

Appendix:
There’s something I wish to add here concerning curses and a person’s ability
to curse total strangers. It can’t be done. You simply can’t go through the
phone book, newspaper or any website and cast curses on people that you don’t
share some form of a metaphysical interaction with. But, at the same time, you
still suffer the consequences for intentionally or unintentionally casting a
curse on a stranger.From the book Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light